Red zone woes don't concern Eagles

Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin fumbles the ball as he is hit by Cincinnati linebacker Dhani Jones Friday night during the first half of the Bengals' 22-9 win. Maclin, who left the game with a shoulder injury, returned to practice Sunday.

They sputtered in the red zone once again, and have yet to score a touchdown in two preseason games covering three full quarters and nine drives.

But Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin doesn't understand the level of concern over the starting offense's inability to reach the end zone, saying it's simply a matter of halting the mistakes that are killing chances.

"I think a lot of stuff that we've done, we've stopped ourselves," said Maclin. "That's not executing the plays that are called. We've been in the red zone numerous times and haven't been able to convert."

Of course, that's probably why there is concern. But Maclin said the mistakes, such as his "inexcusable" fumble Friday night at the Cincinnati 25-yard line, are the problem, and not the approach the Eagles are taking.

"It's little stuff like that that we've got to eliminate," he said. "Other than that, I think we've moved the ball pretty well."

Head coach Andy Reid agreed that execution in the red zone is lacking, but also conceded that preseason play-calling doesn't lend itself to doing whatever it takes to get the touchdown.

"If you execute properly, then you're probably going to get the touchdown," Reid said. "So it's a little bit of a chicken and the egg here.Everything's faster and quicker down there and we spend a lot of time during the season on the red zone practicing it against whatever team we're playing. I can't tell you we do that during the preseason. I'm not making excuses or anything, but that's not what we do."

What they can do, Reid said, is be "a little more precise and accurate" in terms of "blocking, throwing, catching, running routes."

That's why, Maclin said, the team doesn't feel a particular sense of urgency to score touchdowns.

"We're not in panic mode," said Maclin. "I don't understand why people are saying that. We've got guys in the right spots to make things happen, so definitely we'll get it done."

• Injury update: Only four players sat out practice Sunday, including center/guard Nick Cole, who has missed most of practice for the past two weeks because of a sore knee.

Head coach Andy Reid is making the decision to keep Cole out of practice. Cole began training camp as the starting center after taking over for the injured Jamaal Jackson at the end of last season.

"Nick's a tough guy and I know that," said Reid. "Nick will go out there and push himself through anything. That's just the way he's wired. This is me backing off on him."

Reid said Cole has had an MRI exam on his knee and "it's just a matter of letting him relax here for a little bit."

Backup running back Mike Bell, who hasn't played yet because of hamstring and calf injuries, was held out of the game at Cincinnati, but should play this week at Kansas City.

Bell, signed as a restricted free agent from New Orleans to provide a veteran backup to LeSean McCoy, said he thought he could have played at Cincinnati.

"The coaches know what they're doing and the trainers know what they're doing and I have a good trust in both of them, so I'll let them gauge that and trust them to do their job and I'll do mine," said Bell. "They felt like it wasn't ready for me to go, so I took it from them, and I think down deep inside I knew I wasn't ready to go.

"I was just trying to show them something and I need to wait for this week, and that's what I'm going to do."

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who left the game Friday with a shoulder contusion that seemed serious, was back on the field Sunday and dismissed concerns about his injury.